Son of Death
by Tatsurou-san
Summary: Death gets called in to fill in for the Death of another world...and unexpected things occur that turn Death's - for lack of a better term - LIFE, upside down.
1. Finding what's real

1. Finding what's real

Death stood in his realm, gazing into his mirror. A blue world turned in the glass, as it orbited its sun. INTERESTING, he mumbled, as he examined this world that was so strange to him. A ROUND WORLD.

"Is there something of importance in that world, master?" Albert asked him, coming up from behind.

BEFORE TOO LONG, ME, Death responded, fingering a strangely configured hourglass. It was different from the others he normally collected, as it was made of different materials. THE DEATH OF THIS WORLD HAS CALLED IN SICK TODAY, AND I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO FILL IN FOR THEM. THERE IS ONLY THE ONE, SO IT SHOULDN'T TAKE ME TOO LONG.

Albert nodded. "I'll saddle Binky, then, shall I?" Turning, he went to the stables.

Death watched the world turning, and paused. I REMEMBER SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, he mumbled. SOMETHING...IMPORTANT...

Putting it from his mind for the moment, he slipped the hourglass into his sleeve, grabbed his scythe, and headed for the stables. Mounting Binky, he rode out to the round world, called...Earth.

Binky came in slowly to the road in the city. THIS PLACE IS CALLED...TOKYO, Death said to himself. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out the hourglass and read the name inscribed upon it, then followed it to the one he was here for.

He came across an elderly fat man manhandling a small boy wrapped in some sort of meat into a pit. The boy was begging the man to stop. "Dad, please, not again..."

"Foolish boy!" the man proclaimed. "This is for the sake of the art! Now get in there and learn the technique!" The man threw the boy into the pit and slammed the lid shut on his despairing scream.

OH, BUGGER, Death said, as he remembered what was going to happen next, as the white fire began to build in his bones.

NO, said the voice of Isabelle's father.

NO, said the voice of Mort's master.

"No," said the voice of the chef at Hagra's house of ribs, who had found happiness.

NO, said the voice of Mr. Scrub, who heard the music and understood.

NO, said the voice of Susan Sto Helit's Granddad.

NO, said the voice of the temporary Hogfather, who knew there was no greater present than a future.

The white fire filled Death completely, and when it was finished, he understood why this event was so hard to remember...as he FELT fury.

NO! cried Death, in a voice that echoed for miles around, waking children from their beds screaming from nightmares; that made women clutch at their throats in terror with no explanation; which caused men of various age to lean against nearby walls as their heart's beat out of rythm; that set every animal in range to making an unholy din; as every entity with the slightest occult sensitivity reacted to a force of destruction unleashed, fearing for whatever poor soul had awoken Death's fury.

Genma Saotome turned. "Huh?" he said, and was shocked as a very bony elbow slammed into his face, sending him skidding across the street to slam into a building.

Even through the cloud of his fury, Death stared at what he had just done and thought, I REALLY MUST SEE IF I CAN TALK VIMES INTO A SAFER LIFESTYLE WHERE WE DON'T MEET SO OFTEN. HE'S STARTING TO RUB OFF ON ME. Death had to admit to himself, though, the pattented Vimes Elbow manuever was quite effective.

Genma staggered to his feet. "Who the hell do you think you are, striking me like that?" he demanded.

Death drew his scythe and threw back his hood, in his fury forcing what was really there through Genma's gaze, long clouded by what wasn't.

Upon seeing the foe he now faced, Genma responded with the only technique he had at his disposal for this situation: the Crouch of the White Tiger. "Please don't kill me!" he begged.

Death raised his scythe, glowering at Genma...and threatened. DON'T TEMPT ME.

Shifting the scythe to his back, he floated through the lid of the pit and scooped up the child. He also set the cats free, after providing them with a good meal he'd pulled out of the air. Knocking the lid of the pit aside, he lifted the child out of the pit. Turning, still filled with inexplicable fury, he stared into Genma's eyes, the blue novas burning into his vision.

THIS CHILD IS MINE, NOW, Death proclaimed, wrapping the young boy in his robe protectively. Mounting Binky, he rode into the sky, fading out of sight as he passed out of the world. Pulling out the boy's hourglass, he examined it again.

'Ranma Saotome,' the glass read. The upper bulb was empty, as all the sand had poured into the bottom bulb. ...but sand continued to pour from the apex of the hourglass, despite there being no sand to pour.

I SEE... Death said to himself, as he came in to land in his own realm.

Ranma woke slowly, the pain from the training nothing but a faint memory. He felt silken sheets around him, and a comfy bed. He wasn't really waking up, just on the borderline between unconciousness and true sleep. He heard voices.

"Master, why do this again? Remember all the trouble it caused last time?"

YES, ALBERT, I REMEMBER. I ALSO REMEMBERED DOING THIS.

"Oh, so this was supposed to happen, then?"

YES.

"So what happens next, if I may ask?"

YOU MAY, AS I DON'T KNOW.

"What? But I thought you remembered everything, master."

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS. THERE ARE...INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE...FOCAL POINTS OF REALITY. BY THEIR VERY EXISTENCE, THEY WRAP THE FATES OF THOSE AROUND THEM INTO THEIR OWN, CHANGING THINGS. CARROT IRONFOUNDERSON OF AHNK MORPORK IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL. THESE PEOPLE ARE TOUCHED BY FATE, AND...ARE SLIGHTLY MORE REAL THAN THOSE AROUND THEM. THE REAL PEOPLE, I CALL THEM, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ORDINARY PEOPLE AND PEOPLE LIKE ME.

"You mean, he's like Susan?"

HE MAY WELL BECOME SO, YES. HIS HOURGLASS IS EMPTY, BUT SAND STILL POURS. ONLY HE CAN DETERMINE THE TIME OF HIS DEATH NOW. FRUSTRATING.

"Will...will you get in trouble for this, master?"

NO. I HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN TO AZRAEL REGARDING THIS. ...HE WAS PLEASED.

"Oh, dear. That's worrisome."

INDEED. THE BOY STIRS. I WILL CHECK ON HIM.

The door opened, and Ranma looked up into the eyes of a skull, filled with light like twin blue stars. RANMA SAOTOME?

"Yes. Who...who are you?"

I AM DEATH.

"Oh." Ranma thought for a time. "Where am I?"

YOU ARE IN MY REALM.

"Oh. Am I dead?"

NO.

"Then...why am I here? And where's my Dad?"

Death was quite for a while. I GUESS YOU COULD SAY...THAT I'M YOUR DAD NOW.

"Oh. ...that's all right, then." Ranma's eyes closed, and he slept.

Death sat there, watching Ranma sleep. SLEEP WELL, SON, Death spoke, trying the word out. 


	2. Teaching and Learning

2. Teaching and Learning

Miss Susan looked out over her class. Everyone was hard at work, writing. Things were quiet once again. Leaning back in her chair as she watched her students, she allowed herself a small smile. There were benefits, sometimes, to being not quite mortal...as long as you had someone to share it with.

She glanced down at her hand, at what was only almost there, not quite real within the flow of time. It was quite a bit of craftsmanship, a gift of promise from Lobsang, as he still liked being called. Glancing down at herself, she remembered the OTHER present...one that would be a gift for the both of them. She wondered how she would break the news to him...also how she'd explain it to her Grandfather.

Of course, her Grandfather probably already knew, in the same way he seemed to know everything that was going to happen...except when he was caught off guard, since he hadn't been able to perceive Lobsang, so perhaps this would be a surprise to him as well.

Glancing up, she noticed something odd. There was an extra student in her class. She checked the records. Apparently, this boy had been enrolled and placed in her class...but she couldn't remember meeting the boy - or his folks - and yet apparently he'd been in class all day. She even had a few of the assignments he had turned in. She pulled out his report on today's excursion.

'Today we went to a place called Oi Dong, and met an old man named Lu Tze. He told us about Rule One, and explained about the difference between time and Time. Also, he taught us the Right Way to sweep a floor. I liked his mountains.'

The boy's spelling was excellent, and he didn't seem to have trouble with any of the concepts he had been presented with. She decided she would talk with him after class, if he had time, and schedule a parent teacher conference so she could meet his folks.

As class ended, and the students filled out, the new boy stayed in his seat. She approached him, and he looked up. "You wanted to talk to me, Miss Susan?"

She blinked. "Yes, I did. I don't believe we've had a chance to talk yet."

"We have, but it wasn't necessarry at the time. Is it necessarry now?"

"I believe so. Handling the class well?"

"Yes. Dad says I should learn how things work, so I thought I'd attend school. Was that the right way to do things?"

"You enrolled yourself?" Miss Susan was surprised...and impressed.

"Yes. I had some help, though. Rune took care of the paper work."

"And who is Rune?"

The boy smiled. "Rune is my friend. I could call him, but he might not come." Turning, he spoke up. "Rune, Miss Susan wants to meet you."

A shadow in the dorner of the room uncurled itself and walked forward. It was a cat the black that is more than the absence of color, but so far on the opposite side of the spectrum as to be the opposite of color. Its eyes, though, were a deep violet. It hopped up onto the desk and rubbed its head against the boys hand, purring.

Susan stared. It didn't take the eyes of someone not quite mortal to tell that the cat wasn't an ordinary cat, anymore than the boy was ordinary. "What was your name again?"

The boy looked up. "I'm Ranma."

Miss Susan nodded. "Ranma, I think I should speak with your parents about your schooling. When can I meet them?"

"I don't have a Mom, but I can send Rune to fetch Dad. He'd be here in a few moments."

Susan thought for a bit, then nodded. "Please do."

Ranma nodded. "Rune, go get Dad, please. My teacher wants to talk with him."

Rune seemed to chuckle to himself, and leaped out the window without bothering to open it first. As the window was 20 feet away and did not break, this confirmed Susan's suspicions that Rune was not an ordinary cat.

After a time, a familiar white horse walked in through the wall, Rune perched on teh saddle, smirking. A familiar figure held the white horse's reigns.

"Dad!" Ranma called happily, throwing himself at Death to hug him. Death caught Ranma in his arms, a look of surprise managing to shape itself on his skull, but he was grinning.

HELLO, RANMA. HOW GOES YOUR STUDIES?

Susan stared. Then she pointed at Ranma. "Again, Grandfather? You did it again?"

Death seemed to wince. RANMA, YOUR TEACHER AND I NEED TO HAVE WORDS. GO PLAY FOR A BIT, OKAY?

"Okay, Dad!" Ranma hopped down. "Come on, Rune." He and Rune casually ran through the wall like it wasn't there.

Susan looked at her grandfather. "Explain."

I REMEMBERED THAT I HAD DONE IT, AND SO I DID IT. THIS - RANMA BECOMING MY SON AND YOUR UNCLE - WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.

Susan sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Okay...I guess I can see your reasoning there...so what happens next with him?"

I DON'T KNOW.

"Come on, Grandad. You don't have to keep me in the dark on this one."

I DO NOT INTEND TO. IN THE CASE OF RANMA'S FUTURE, AND WHAT FATE HAS IN STORE FOR HIM, YOU KNOW AS MUCH AS I.

Susan blinked. "Oh. This is going to be a headache, isn't it?"

QUITE POSSIBLY. DO YOU MIND HAVING HIM IN YOUR CLASS? I COULD FIND SCHOOLING FOR HIM ELSEWHERE...

"No, it's fine. He's a good student."

I AM GLAD. Death paused for a bit. SO, WHAT ELSE IS NEW WITH YOU? Death started to sit on a desk.

"Lobsang asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

Death fell through the desk. WHAT?

"Lobsang - you know, Time's son, the new Time? - asked me to marry him, and I said yes." She held out her hand, showing the ring that only existed just outside of time, and could only be seen by those for whom time was optional.

Death examined the ring in minute detail. I SEE...CONGRATULATIONS. AM...WILL I BE INVITED TO THE WEDDING?

"Of course you will. You're family, after all. Someone has to give me away, you know."

Death futsed nervously with his robe of woven darkness. He was plainly overcome. THANK YOU, he said, his voice thick with actual felt happiness. Susan's eyes widened hearing it. AND WHEN IS THE WEDDING?

"Soon. Hopefully before I start to show."

SHOW WHAT? Death asked, turning to pass through the wall to call to Ranma.

"Grandfather, I'm pregnant."

Death failed to pass through the wall with a hollow sounding clonk. YOU'RE WHAT?

"Pregnant. I'm going to have a baby."

...HOW FAR ALONG ARE YOU?

"About six hours."

DOES HE KNOW YET?

"I presume so, depending on how many dimensions he's thinking in just now."

I SEE...UMM...

Susan smiled. "I wouldn't dream of keeping her away from you, Grandfather."

Death grinned, and although it was the only expression he could present to the world, it was plainly a genuine one. I'LL TRY TO DO A GOOD JOB BEING A GREAT GRANDFATHER. I HOPE I HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF KNEES.

With that, Death left to collect his son, yet again inordinately pleased that his family was growing.

He found Ranma standing over a few thugs in the Shades, holding a basket of kittnes.

"You don't hurt cats," he was saying to the groaning teenagers. "Be glad it was me who caught you and not my Dad." Rune sat nearby, tail lashing in fury, eyes glowing.

RANMA, Death said. YOU CAN PLAY WITH THEM LATER. IT'S TIME TO GO HOME. ...BRING THE KITTENS.

"Okay, Dad!" Ranma hopped up onto Binky's back, carefully balancing the basket.

Binky casually trod on one of the thugs hands as they left, leaving his final hoofprint burning there before vanishing. 


	3. Families

3. Family

Albert carefully carried the tea tray through the house in Death's domain. Despite the things that had changed - many - since Ranma had come to live here, certain things were still the same. The Master always had his tea at a certain time, relatively speaking, and Albert had it prepared and carried it to him. As he passed through the house, however, Albert couldn't help but notice the things that had changed.

Ranma's room was a place of color. He had taken to wandering around on the Disc more or less at random, and very little seemed to slow him for very long. He always brought something back, some sort of souvenir that he put in his room to brighten it up. Death still didn't understand this behavior, but he indulged Ranma's collective urges by ensuring the room had plenty of room for everything he brought back. As a result - since Ranma's wanderings about the Disc weren't limited to the present timeframe - the room had more space and cultural artifacts than most museums.

Passing by the room, Albert paused at the latest sign of major change in Death's - for lack of a better word - lifestyle. In the parlor, standing next to the massive fireplace, was a Hogswatch tree, and stockings were hung by the fireplace, labeled for each of the residents. Given that Death had made these things, they were all in various shades of black, but he had made an effort to get into the spirit of the holiday again. Although Albert couldn't help but shudder when he saw that instead of tinsel the tree was decorated with dried entrails, and the ornaments were small, bone white skulls. Although a few of the ornaments were more personal, which actually concerned Albert more.

There were iconographs hanging here and there amongst the branches. One showed Death and the young Master (Albert had resisted, but Death had insisted that he treat Ranma with the same respect he showed himself. Albert and Ranma had come to a mutually acceptable compromise. Albert referred to Ranma as the young Master and agreed to do what he asked, and in return Ranma promised to never ask anything of Albert. This went quite well until Ranma spent those two weeks watching Havelock Vetinari at work and mastered the art of the polite non-request. The boy learned too damn fast!) fishing, another showed them camping out together amongst the golden wheat field the master had placed within the domain after his brief retirement.

A third iconograph was quite interesting, as it showed Death, Ranma, and Lobsang gathered around Susan as she held her newborn infant. They still weren't sure if the child was male, female, human, anthromorphic personification, god, mortal, or somewhere in the middle of all of those things. As Death had mentioned, the child seemed perfectly content for the time with simply being.

The most disturbing thing about the iconographs, however, was that blasted cat. Neither Albert nor Death knew where the cat had come from. One morning, he was curled up in the crook of Ranma's neck like he belonged there, and Death decided not to question it. However, Albert found Rune more disturbing than the creatures of the Dungeon Dimensions, since he didn't seem bound by any rules, physical or otherwise. Even his image in the iconograph got up and left whenever it felt like it, only to return in a different position, sometimes with a snack that it proceeded to eat despite it being a still image. This always gave Albert a headache.

Pushing this from his mind, Albert stepped around the not-yet-in-existence pile of presents - all wrapped in black, with images of snow and robins in white and deeper black (Ranma had demonstrated the difference of having an image on a card/wrapping paper as opposed to an actual thing when he had made a Hogswatch card for Death). Albert continued into the Master's office, setting the tray on the desk. "Your tea, Master."

THANK YOU, ALBERT, Death replied, leaning back in his chair as he idly flipped the pages of the book in his bony hands.

Blinking, Albert couldn't help but stare. "Master, why are you dressed like that?"

Death glanced down at the red fur suit, complete with cushion and false beard. I THOUGHT IT APPROPRIATE TO THE SEASON?

Albert stared at Death, raising an eyebrow. "Really."

Death sighed. RANMA WROTE A LETTER TO THE HOGFATHER. THE HOGFATHER WROTE TO ME TO INFORM ME THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO DELIVER TO MY REALM. SO...I THOUGHT I WOULD DO IT, FOR RANMA'S SAKE.

Albert closed his eyes, rubbing his temple. "You're spoiling him, Master."

PERHAPS, Death replied. HOWEVER, I FIND I ENJOY IT. Death turned back to the book in his hands.

Albert, for lack of anything better to do in the situation, looked at what he could see of the title. "Sarah V?" he asked. "Someone we know?"

Death nodded. SHE WAS THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL I DID NOT ALLOW TO DIE.

Albert blinked. "Oh yes, when you were filling in for the Hogfather that one year." He began to roll himself a cigarette. "I confess I'm a bit curious about what happened to her myself."

CORPORALS NOBBS AND VISIT TOOK HER BACK TO THE WATCHHOUSE FOR FOOD, AND SHE SLEPT THERE THAT EVENING, Death elucidated. SHORTLY AFTER, IT WAS NOTICED THAT HER CURRENT SURVIVAL WAS DUE TO OCCULT MEDDLING BEYOND THE MORTAL, AND CAPTAIN IRONFOUNDERSON SAW FIT TO DISCUSS IT WITH THE PATRICIAN.

Putting the rolled cigarette into his mouth, Albert reached for his matches. "Why would Carrot take her to the Patrician?"

BECAUSE WHEN THE POWERS THAT BE DECIDE TO MEDDLE IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN, THEY OFTEN PREFER TO REUSE AN ALREADY EXISTING CHANNEL, RATHER THAN FORGE THEIR OWN. AS SUCH, IF A POWERFUL OCCULT FORCE INTERVENED ON HOGSWATCH TO KEEP HER ALIVE, THEN SOMEONE MUST HAVE PLANS FOR HER, AND CARROT THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE HER TAKEN CARE OF SOMEWHERE NEAR TO SOMEONE IN CHARGE, SO THAT IF ANYTHING STRANGER THAN USUAL BEGAN TO HAPPEN, NEWS WOULD REACH THE TOP MORE RAPIDLY.

Albert chuckled as he lit his cigarette. "I can see why Havelock would want to keep a girl who could conceivably be a channel for major change. So, what name does she go by now? Sarah Vimes?" He slowly took a drag.

SARAH VETINARI.

Albert nearly swallowed his roll up, coughing a bit. "What?" While Albert had not had any personal experience with the current Patrician of Ahnk Morpork, what he knew of the man didn't mesh with this new revelation. "Why?"

APPARENTLY, HAVELOCK HAD A GAME SET UP THAT HE HAD CRAFTED HIMSELF, A VARIANT OF CHESS HE CALLED 'SHADOW CHESS'. HE HAD ATTEMPTED TO...AMPLIFY THE STANDARD CHESS GAME TO BE APPLIED TO MORE MODERN METHODS OF GOVERNANCE AND THE MANAGEMENT OF ARMIES AND CITIES. APPARENTLY, SARAH DEMONSTRATED A VERY KEEN MIND, BUT A LACK OF INTEREST IN USING IT BEYOND THE ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME. Death chuckled. I UNDERSTAND HE HAS SINCE ENROLLED HER IN THE ASSASSIN'S GUILD FOR TRAINING, WHERE SHE IS QUITE SKILLED. Death raised a bony finger to his chin. IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN...SHE IS ABOUT RANMA'S AGE...

Albert raised his eyebrow once more. "You aren't seriously considering playing matchmaker, are you Master?"

FURTHEST THING FROM MY MIND, Death replied. I SIMPLY THOUGH RANMA MIGHT ENJOY COMPANIONSHIP HIS OWN AGE THAT COULD KEEP UP WITH HIS HIGHER DIMENSIONAL THOUGHT PROCESS. Death had been quite pleased at how quickly Ranma had grasped the concepts presented to him regarding time, space, and curry. I SHOULDN'T THINK I NEED TO WORRY ABOUT MATCHMAKING FOR ANOTHER DECADE/CENTURY, RELATIVELY SPEAKING.

Albert sighed, knowing what Death meant. Given that time flowed more or less however one wanted it to in Death's realm, one couldn't exactly be sure how long it would take for Ranma to age properly, as his rate of aging seemed to be a variable absolute...especially since Death had taught Ranma how to control his own personal timeflow. Shaking his head, Albert looked pointedly once more at Death's red suit. "Do we even have a chimney?"

WE WILL IF I NEED ONE. ...ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT WALKING THROUGH THE WALL WOULD BE INNAPROPRIATE?

Albert nodded. "It wouldn't be quite the same, Master."

I SUPPOSE YOU ARE RIGHT. ...SUSAN WILL BE STOPPING BY FOR A HOGSWATCH FEAST, ALONG WITH LOBSANG AND THE CHILD.

"I didn't think Lobsang could manifest here," Albert replied, confused. "Since time doesn't flow here."

WHILE THE DOOR OF MY REALM IS INDEED BARRED TO TIME, Death said, the blue novas of his eyes sparkling mischievously, THEY ARE NOT TO LOBSANG LUDD, THE THIEF.

Albert's eyes widened. "He can do that?"

IT WAS RANMA'S SUGGESTION, AND LOBSANG FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK. IT WILL BE NICE TO HAVE THE WHOLE FAMILY TOGETHER.

"Yes," Albert mumbled to himself. "I suppose it will."


End file.
